The Knight Who Broke Off Our Engagement and Told Me to Never Show My Face Again Still Clings to Me Today, Even Though I Was Possessed and Turned Into a Villainess for Ten Years - 39 - Shaken Heart

“Sadie, are you okay? You look really pale.”

“I just didn’t sleep much…”

The next day, after breakfast, I was having tea in the sitting room with Eliza and Norman when Eliza looked at me with concern.

I couldn’t stop thinking about Rufus last night, and because of that, I barely slept. Even though I knew this wasn’t the time to be caught up in such thoughts.

By the way, I had already told both of them what the High Priest said. Later today, Neil and Gerald were supposed to come so we could discuss what to do from now on.

“Did something happen while you were out? Was it something hard or painful?”

“N-No! Not at all! I’m sorry!”

“Really? If you say so, then I’m glad.”

Trying to pull myself together, I slapped both of my cheeks. Just then, Hara came over and told me someone was here to see me.

“Is it Neil? Or Gerald?”

“No, it’s Lord Rufus.”

“…What?”

My heart jumped at her unexpected answer.

Of course, I hadn’t made any plans with him. Why was he here?

I quickly ran to a mirror to check my appearance, then held my chest, trying to calm my pounding heart, and headed to the entrance.

There, standing in his knight uniform, was Rufus. It looked like he had just come off night duty.

“Sorry for showing up out of nowhere. I just… I came to apologize again for the other day.”

“O-Oh… I see…”

Just looking at him blushing brought back all kinds of memories and made me flustered too. After a short awkward silence, Rufus spoke again.

“This might not be much, but… I brought a gift to apologize. If you don’t want it, feel free to throw it away.”

He handed me a few cute little boxes. It seemed like he put a lot of thought into picking them out, and that made me really happy.

“Thank you. You didn’t have to go out of your way, really.”

“No, I did. And also… if there’s anything else I can do for you, please tell me.”

Before I could stop myself, I said, “Then… please don’t drink alcohol anymore.”

Rufus widened his eyes slightly in surprise, then covered them with his hand and looked deeply apologetic.

“…I’m really sorry for making you uncomfortable. I’ll stop drinking for the rest of my life.”

“N-No! That’s not what I meant!”

It’s not like I wanted him to quit alcohol entirely. And it’s not like he made me feel bad or anything.

“I just… don’t want you to drink when there are other women around.”

“…? Okay, I promise.”

Even though my request made no sense, Rufus still agreed. For some reason, that made me feel so relieved.

“If anything comes up, call me anytime.”

“Okay. Really, thank you. Good job on your night shift.”

“…Thanks.”

After he left just as quickly as he came, I headed back to my room, holding the gift he gave me.

My heart was still beating fast as I opened each box. Inside were cute sweets and beautiful accessories. Just knowing he picked these for me filled my chest with warmth.

After carefully putting them back into the boxes, I returned to the sitting room where Eliza and Norman were. Neil arrived soon after, and at the same time, we got a message saying Gerald would be late.

“Sadie, why don’t you rest until Gerald gets here?”

“Yeah, yeah. We’ll just chat and take it easy.”

“Right. Sadie’s the one doing the most work.”

“That’s not true…”

Maybe I really did look that exhausted, because they were all being so kind.

In the end, I took their offer and went back to my room. I flopped onto my bed and quickly fell into a deep sleep.

◇◇◇

“You’re awake?”

As I slowly opened my eyes at the sound of a voice, I saw Gerald standing right next to me.

Why was he here…?

Still half-asleep, I couldn’t think straight. He gently brushed some of my hair aside and gave me a troubled smile.

“Sadie, you’re so mean.”

“…Huh?”

My head slowly started to clear, but I still didn’t understand what he meant.

“Don’t you get it?” he said.

“I confessed to you. I proposed to you. And right after that, you stayed the night with another man… That’s just cruel.”

His accusing words made my heart skip a beat.

But we hadn’t planned to stay overnight. I quickly sat up and explained that it wasn’t on purpose, that we couldn’t help it.

“I see…” Gerald said, and then he patted my head.

“Then… nothing happened, right?”

“…!”

His emerald-green eyes stared into mine.

Could I really say nothing happened?

I froze, not knowing how to answer. That’s when Gerald grabbed both of my arms.

“…Sorry. But I don’t think I can forgive you.”

The next thing I knew, my vision tilted—and I was pinned down on the bed by him.